ADR: Mediate and be damned

Neil Jamieson examines the increasing significance of mediation ‘While mediation remains a voluntary process which no party can be compelled to engage in, there is now is an undeniable onus on parties to attempt alternative dispute resolution if they wish to avoid costs sanctions.’Would-be litigants certainly cannot be criticised for approaching the prospect of bringing …
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ADR: Oil on troubled waters

John Sykes looks at the myths and reality of mediation and the public sector ‘Whereas a judgment is public and invariably receives widespread attention, a mediated settlement will usually remain confidential and be better suited to shielding the authority from public criticism.’I first represented a client in a mediation in 1999. It was all about …
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Construction Focus: Mediation: stays and windows

Should a window for ADR be built into a dispute referred to the TCC? John Starr analyses the findings of a recent case ‘It was wrong in principle for the court to fix a “window” for ADR at a time when at least one significant party – in this case the claimants – positively did …
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Mediation: Give peace a chance

Michelle Knight reports on the rejection of an offer to mediate ‘While BAE’s view of the merits provided some justification for not mediating, other factors showed that BAE was unreasonable in rejecting NGM’s offer to mediate.’Parties to civil litigation should take note of a recent decision in the TCC which considered whether the successful defendant …
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Non-Court Dispute Resolution: Alternative routes

Frances Bailey outlines options and steps that may be taken by the courts to encourage parties to attend non-court dispute resolution ‘The court’s powers are limited in that it cannot force either party to engage in dispute resolution; it can simply adjourn the proceedings to enable them to obtain information.’ Resolution’s third annual Family Dispute …
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Construction Focus: An unreasonable refusal

John Starr considers a case where no costs sanctions were imposed despite an unreasonable refusal to mediate ‘In this case, the judge came to the conclusion that the fair and just outcome should be that neither party’s conduct should be taken into account to modify what would otherwise be the general rule on costs.’ In …
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